Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Dec. 2, 1999, edition 1 / Page 3
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1999 Vecember 2,1999 The Banner Perspectives 11 g us only Kaufman , Ronald ccumula- onal debt am (Let's : height of or pissing working- itty. :ed for a ly intelli- at all, as IS a nice lasticsur- 1, making FMichael Zher. c Amend- ced with .iveCrew. ire tawdry ailableon station in le dignity It, proving resident, if llion dol- :nt bank- million a exhorted )on-bon.” af a dirty if the prez Also, the theWorld ;d. Strom mg along, s the last ndtheson le ity of the d by the n always motely at ontempo- heir roots developed i.Thede- itered our individual tnercialism laissez-feire distraction isible with- :t of awak- gers allows idoflosing diversions, view ideas Is. Perhaps n all devel- le appliM- be carefiil) hat they do >nships, s that, while I oldergood that reason mU be more /are of how • various as- ched on ot the truth 3e used and the diverse )t agree jerhaps the ented :s of profes- Dnd to pre- :r to forth- le resulting ks here and building i :h me ■ ientintheit Student Government Association Need for diversity education As the university moves ahead into the new millen nium, it should have the flex ibility to provide the educa tional and social basis to sup port all its students. As the role of this university is to provide a liberal arts edu cation, then among other things, the university should provide its students with an education that prepares them to interact, not just in North Carolina, but in the world at large. A key element of this type of By Adrian Valdivia education would be courses that teach the student not just about the beliefs and values and of one particular group, but about many ethnic groups, so that the students are rela tively at ease, whether they are in Moscow, Russia or Mos cow, Idaho; in Paris, France, or Paris, Kentucky; in Lima, Peru, or Lima, Ohio; in Cairo, Egypt or Cairo, Illinois; in Canton, China or Canton, More importantly, such an education is important for them to thrive in New York, Washington, Miami, San Antonio, or virtually any other American city which has a sig nificant population of immi grants or their children. This means that the univer sity needs to teach about the general beliefs, values, thoughts and ideas of various parts of the world, not just of The university, in order to carry out its mission, needs to educate the students about the various major cultures in the world so that its students can not just survive, but can thrive in the United States and the rest of the world, in whatever cultural setting. The university needs to pro vide its students knowledge about diversity. History, as we learn it in the United States, has not been overlv kmd to non-Europe ans. We learn virtually noth- mg about the great civiliza tions of Egypt or China that were thriving when theGreeks were just entering the Bronze Age- According to history as we learn it, the only people to have really done anything are those of European descent. And in areas where the Euro peans encountered people of other groups or culture, we are taught that the Europeans discovered these other people. That is to say that these other people were nothing nor had anything until their encoun ter with the Europeans. How egotistical! In terms of philosophy, we hold persons such as Hegel and Kant as virtual gods, per sons who put forth articles that glorified things European and demeaned things non- This creates stereotypes and assumptions about other cul tures. The university student needs to be exposed to a broad range of thoughts that go be yond Kant’s and Hegel’s. The student should know about the similarities between Judaism, Christianity and Is lam. The student should be aware of why persons outside of the United States also consider themselves Americans and yet, citizens of their own coun- The student should know about the contributions of other civilizations. How aware are you of the Native Ameri can protest? Do you know how other conflicts like the Pakistan vs. India conflict in directly or directly affect the United States of America? Indeed, students need to be acquainted with the world at large. They not only need knowledge and training about the diversity of humanity, but about diversity in our natural sciences. The best place for them to receive this knowledge and training is in a liberal arts in stitution, an institution that not only has the task of im parting knowledge, but also the task of getting students to think critically so that they can go into the world capable of dealing with a variety of people and issues. We are told that by the middle of the next century, white people will be in the minority in the United States (They already are in the world at large). If they and all others in this country are to have the people- skills to deal with the society as a whole, they need to learn about other groups, theirvalue and the issues facing them. It is not just one particular group that needs the training. As a student of color (from the underrepresented popu lation), I believe that all groups (including ethnicity, sexual preference, religious back ground, etc.) need the train ing so that we can all play, work and live together. So no matter our heritage, we come together as equals with pride in ourselves, knowledge of others, and the desire to have this country as a place where people are truly equal in mind, body and spirit. A professor once told me that in order to tolerate other cul tures we should “celebrate our differences not condemn them.” I totally agree with him. For us to be the best we possibly can be when we pass through the portals to leave these hallowed halls of educa tion, we should have had im parted to us, as a part of our education, knowledge about our diverse world, not just about one part of it. Adrian Valdivia is the execu tive to the president ofSGA. Letters to the Editor Provoking Dear Editor, writing to compliment The Banner and Shaun Cashman for his Nov. 18 opinion article “Spirit of Affirmative Action.” As usual, Cashman probably offended some Worthwhile opinions do. What I like about Cashman is that he offends the right, people.. Offeiii^^g’the minoritjl tjjijjg!^.|^y^ consistently taking, fhe unpopular side of an issue, Cashman gives us more than Stein and Rothman ever did. It comes as no surprise that a public liberal arts college fights so cial problems the way it does. Angry voices are always the loud est ones but rarely the most logical ones. And here, very few voices differ from the loudest. What we need is an equal and alternative voice to counter. Change needs a free discourse. Without it, change is never necessarily for the better. When unpopular ideas are bullied into silence, discourse is impossible. I have noticed Cashman does not let, hircijSslf l?e^ ljullied,, Ij hope, that sgekai] gqu^ly^nt^igofiytic colunfi,^ • nisr to take his place. , ' Thad Eckard Senior, philosophy and multime dia arts and science Applause to UNCA athletes I am not sure the university com munity knows of the unselfish ac tivities some of our student athletes perform. Twice since I became ill last sum mer groups of athletes have come to my hou^e and ch^rfully taken care of work in'mv .yard",^^^^^ done arid couldn’t doj at least not safely;' ''V' I want to recognize them publicly: Nick McDevitt, John Risinger and Ben Ezell of the men’s basketball team (accompanied by Eddie Biedenbach, the coach); Aaron Rembert and Jason Ronai of the baseball team; Kelly Ratterman, women’s soccer; Colin Barnes, men’s soccer; Linwood Jaycocks, volleyball; and Stephanie Shuba, tennis. Most of them are members of the Student Athletic Advisory Com- None are my students or, as far as I know, majors in my depart- jiey'diclii’t Kave m^el'p jne out^ but they did, anti I thank them for Merritt Moseley Professor of literature Appalled Dear Editor, In doing research for our health nd sexuality class, we were ap palled at the numbers of incidences of rape that happened as a result of ir. Even more appalling was the amount of people indicted for rape during war that still remains un punished. Since World War II, over one million women have been raped in :ross the globe, yet only a small percentage of perpetrators have been sentenced as criminals of war for ordering or committing rape. By issuing indictments for rape, the international community sends a strong message demonstrating its views of violence against women in time of war. However, very few of those indicted individuals have, so far, faced justice. There is no doubt that rape is a crime, and since it is punishable in the United States, there is no rea son why soldiers who commit rape out of boredom or frustration dur ing war should not also receive the same punishment. ■* We respectfully request that you use your influence to press for more assertive action and awareness in this inhumane treatment of war time victims. Concerned Students at UNCA The last days Dear Editor, I am writing this letter in response to my team. This is my final year with the squad, and I just want to tell the 1 how I feel about them. Well, I love you guys. You have made my college experience more than successful. You made it the best time of my life, and I thankyou for that. I will miss everything: pre season, long practices, road trips and games. Even though some of it may have been rough, we toughed it out to gether, side by side. So thanks for the ride guys, but my stop is here, and I have to get off. To the rest of you who get to keep on riding, make the most of it. Marc Villegas Senior, environmental science Letters to the editor may be submitted to The Banner at One University Heights, 208A Carmichael Hall, Asheville, NC 28804, e-mailed to banner@unca.edu, or submitted via The Banner Online. Let ters should be typed, single-spaced, and limited to 300 words or less. Submissions may be edited for space and content. Letters to the editor must be signed and include the author’s classification and major or other rela tionship to UNCA. Extracurricular Activism r ! roix Editorial Board Amelia Burnette Emma Jones Meghan Cumrriings Andrew Pearson Travis Barker Krystel Lucas Matt Hunt Zach Dill Editor-in-Chief News Editor Features Editor Sports Editor Photo Editor Copy Editor Online Editor Asst. Online Editor Staff Jessica Ball, Martha Ball, Holly Beveridge, Christine Cooke, Breandan Dezendorf, Mark Ebert, Jason Graham, Phoebe Hicks, Ryan Hunter, SaraK Lacy, Johanna Luks, Brett Muhlhan, Amanda Osteen, Naomi Richard, Greg Sessoms, Tripp Shelton, Sarah Wilkins, Megan Wood Managers Rebecca Cook Greg Sessoms Business Manager Circulation Manager Contributing Staff Walter Fyler, Ryan Southern Columnists Liam Bryan, Hugh Kelly, Andrew Thomasson. Adrian Valdivia Mark West, faculty advisor The Banner is the student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Asheville. We publish each Thursday except during summer sessions, final exam weeks and holi day brealcs. Our offices are located in Carmichael Hall, Room 208-A. Our telephone number is (828) 251-6586. Our campus e- mail address is banner@unca.edu. An on-line version of The Banner is also available at http://wrww.unca.edu/banner Nothing in our editorial or opinions sections necessarily reflects the opinion of the entire Banner staff, the faculty advisor, or the university faculty, administration or staff Unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of a majority of The Banner editorial board. Letters, columns, cartoons and reviews represent only the opinions of their respective authors. The Banner vielcomes isubmissions of letters and articles for publication. All submissions are subject to editing for clarity, content and length and are considered on the basis of interest, space, taste, and timeliness. Letters should be typed, single-spaced, and should not exceed 300 words. Letters for publication should also contain the author's signature, classification, major or other relationship with UNCA. The deadline for letters is . noon on Tuesday. If you have a submission, you can send it to The Banner, 208A Carmichael Hall, One University Heights, Asheville NC 28804. The deadline for display ads and the FYI calendar is Monday at 2.p.m. The deadline for classified ads is at noon on Tuesday.
University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper
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Dec. 2, 1999, edition 1
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